Volunteers work to feed area's neediest children

Children at the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County line up for meals prepared by Feed the Kids Coalition on Fridays.

Mike Dirks/Times-News

By NANCY TANKERTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 13, 2013 at 5:17 p.m.

On a recent Friday night 12-year-old Alexis Nelson arrived at the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County as usual to have dinner, served to her by volunteer members of Hendersonville-based Feed the Kids Coalition. She said she was grateful for the meal, which consisted of baked ziti with meat sauce, sliced peaches, vanilla wafers, a salad and milk.

“The dinner is really good and I like it here,” she said. “I think it's nice that they help kids.”

Every week, a small army of volunteers mobilizes across Henderson County to not only feed kids dinner at the Boys and Girls Club, but also to provide local schools with backpacks every Friday that help food-insecure children get through the weekend, when they don't have access to free or reduced school breakfasts and lunches. If not for these volunteers, the children they feed might go hungry. Sometimes extended spring, summer or Christmas school breaks make things even more dire in the homes of some of Henderson County's most vulnerable children.

The volunteers come from all walks of life. Some are retired while others still work. Some are part of faith-based organizations while others are secular. But there are a few traits they all share. First, none seek recognition for their deeds and often deflect the credit to other volunteers or organizations. Second, all are eager for the public to know that there are kids in need in Henderson County and that donations to their organizations are more than welcome.

Third, while some people see a community problem and ask “Why doesn't somebody do something about that?” these volunteers figure out a way to attack the problem themselves. Such is the case with the Feed The Kids Coalition's Friday night meals at the Boys and Girls Club.

“A few years ago I was giving a tour of the club to some community members and they asked me, 'What can we do for you that you can't do for yourself?'” recalled Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Kevin Lauritsen. Knowing first-hand that some club kids were going hungry, “I said, 'Feed our kids.'

Before he knew it, Hendersonville's Feed the Kids Coalition was formed. Every week a different group of volunteers meets at a different church to prepare a meal and serve it to nearly 250 children at the club every Friday.

“They have a huge impact on our organization, our kids,” Lauritsen said. “If we could, we would feed our kids every day, but Feed the Kids is a great help. They are one of my great delights.”

Feed the Kids volunteer Irv Kershner said the organization “is a faith-based organization that fills some critical gaps that others can't. A lot of these kids are from Bruce Drysdale Elementary. They're so polite, saying 'please' and 'thank you' when we serve them. Doing good for these kids is a blessing.” He is a member of Agudas Israel Synagogue.

Countless are individuals, churches and organizations like the Hendersonville Kiwanis pitch in with donations or to volunteer to cook or serve, Kershner said. He added that many local restaurants, including Soy Y Luna, Mrs. G & Me, and The Green Room, have held special days when a percentage of sales go to the Boys and Girls Club.

“Ingles has been very good to us,” added Susan O'Brien, Feed the Kids' chairman of the board.

“I just can't for the life of me image a child being hungry for any reason whatsoever,” O'Brien said. “If that can not happen one day a week, then the effort is worth it.”

“I will speak to anyone, any civic group, who wants to be more aware of the needs of these kids and find out how they can help feed them,” Kershner said. “We hope to expand to serve more dinners – maybe two nights a week. Our ultimate goal is five nights a week.”

Weekends are another challenge, when some area children face bare cupboards and hunger pangs. Every week First United Methodist Church member Bob Winters helps prepare backpacks filled with food for the weekend for drop-off at Bruce Drysdale every Friday. A retired veterinarian, he's been volunteering with the backpack program for about seven years. He also volunteers at The Storehouse food pantry on Seventh Avenue in Hendersonville.

“We serve 150 to 170 kids on any given weekend,” he said. “About eighty percent of the kids at Bruce Drysdale are on the free and reduced lunch program.” That is a striking statistic, but Winters said things used to be even worse. “It used to be that teachers wouldn't do any testing on Monday and Tuesday because the kids were weak from the weekend” when they didn't have adequate food.

Today, the school has an effective backpack program and “Judy Holt, a counselor at Bruce Drysdale does a great job and keeps us informed about the kids” who need food. “The kids are so appreciative and polite. Whenever I meet a polite child, I say, 'You're from Bruce Drysdale aren't you?' I like what they're teaching over there.”

The packs are designed to feed one child for two days, Winters said. “We focus on getting calories in. They get a balanced diet twice a day during the week so we focus on high calorie foods like pop tarts, ramen noodles, crackers, cookies, tuna fish, pudding, oatmeal. When our funding is low, it might be mac and cheese and kid boxes of cereal.”

He gets supplies from Manna Food Bank, Sam's Club, individuals and he is always willing to take direct donations. Volunteers from Kenmure Golf Community and a variety of churches join in to pack and deliver the backpacks.

When Bruce Drysdale is on school breaks, Winters delivers the backpacks to the Boys and Girls Club, “because they're basically the same group of kids.”

She also takes supplies to West Henderson High and East Henderson High. “They each have a room that we try to fill so teenagers can come in and get something to eat,” she explained. “There is a dignity and privacy issue with teenagers and they don't want to be seen with a food backpack. Some are freshmen high school who might not be old enough to have a job but still have a need.”

“I don't stay awake at night worrying about the kids because during the day when I'm awake I'm giving 150 percent effort,” Staggs said. “But there's always more to do. We can use volunteers and more money to buy food. Our entire organization depends on donations from the community.”

Debby Staton, a member of St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Flat Rock, helps organize group of 20-25 volunteers that supply backpacks for more than 140 children at Akinson Elementary, Upward Elementary, Flat Rock Middle, Immaculata Catholic School, and the Little Red School daycare and preschool. “The volunteers are Unitarian Universalists, some are from St. John, or Immaculate Conception, some are Presbyterians, some unaffiliated with a church.”

The group gets the vast majority of its food supplies from Manna. A pack they prepare typically contains three dinners, two lunches, two snacks and two breakfasts, Staton said. “It might be a can of vegetables, pasta meals or a bag of spaghetti or rice, tuna or chicken in a can, and maybe a one-pound bag of dried beans so mom can make a soup or something for the family. It's not as substantial as it was five years ago, because contributions for Manna are down. They supply 4,600 backpacks a weekend in western North Carolina.”

Whatever she can't get from Manna she buys from the Aldi discount store.

“During spring break or Christmas break, we put in much more food – side pouches of pastas and things like that,” she said. “We put in as much as we can for the kiddos.”

Henderson County apple growers “have been wonderful supporters of our program,” Staton said. “From after Labor Day until we're packing for Christmas, we've had fresh apples. We don't pay anything for the apples. The growers just don't like kids going hungry.”

“We have been so blessed to have received grants from the Episcopal Diocese of WNC from Human Hurt and Hope Grants program -- $15,000 over three years,” she said. “This year we received a $1,000 grant from St. John and another donation from the Ladies Aide Society of Flat Rock.”

For the past several years, Hubba Hubba Smokehouse in Flat Rock has held a fundraising barbeque for the group that has helped feed countless children, Staton said. “Starr Teel, who owns Hubba Hubba, has been very good to us.” Teel also opens his restaurant to the group every week to pack the backpacks.

Teel said he deserves little credit and that it's really Staton who is the hero. “The energy that Debby and her team bring to this is incredible. It's tangible and you can see the difference they make. It's an exciting part of our community fabric and I am glad to be part of the folks here in Flat Rock who help – everybody on Rainbow Row feeds off of this and I mean that spiritually as well as physically.”

Teel added that “These are the things we're supposed to be doing if we're part of the community. It's one more link in the chain to make sure the community at large is being taken care of and can all share in what our community has the capacity to give.”

Chris Hefner, pastor of missions and evangelism at Mud Creek Baptist Church in Hendersonville said he wishes more parents would reach out to area organizations if they need food assistance. “There are plenty of ways and programs to make sure kids are fed adequately over school breaks. Kids are getting fed if parents are good about taking care of that need” by seeking help, he said. “The sad thing is when parents aren't involved it taking the initiative to reach out. It's sad and breaks my heart, but ultimately you can't be a parent to every kid and provide for every need.

He works will Hillandale Elementary to help with their backpack program, with assistance from Manna.

“The Storehouse, Salvation Army, Interfaith Assistance Ministry – they all do a fantastic job,” he added. “They really know what they're doing. I would put our county up against any other county in terms of helping feed our children.”

<p>On a recent Friday night 12-year-old Alexis Nelson arrived at the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County as usual to have dinner, served to her by volunteer members of Hendersonville-based Feed the Kids Coalition. She said she was grateful for the meal, which consisted of baked ziti with meat sauce, sliced peaches, vanilla wafers, a salad and milk. </p><p>“The dinner is really good and I like it here,” she said. “I think it's nice that they help kids.”</p><p>Every week, a small army of volunteers mobilizes across Henderson County to not only feed kids dinner at the Boys and Girls Club, but also to provide local schools with backpacks every Friday that help food-insecure children get through the weekend, when they don't have access to free or reduced school breakfasts and lunches. If not for these volunteers, the children they feed might go hungry. Sometimes extended spring, summer or Christmas school breaks make things even more dire in the homes of some of Henderson County's most vulnerable children. </p><p>The volunteers come from all walks of life. Some are retired while others still work. Some are part of faith-based organizations while others are secular. But there are a few traits they all share. First, none seek recognition for their deeds and often deflect the credit to other volunteers or organizations. Second, all are eager for the public to know that there are kids in need in Henderson County and that donations to their organizations are more than welcome. </p><p>Third, while some people see a community problem and ask “Why doesn't somebody do something about that?” these volunteers figure out a way to attack the problem themselves. Such is the case with the Feed The Kids Coalition's Friday night meals at the Boys and Girls Club.</p><p>“A few years ago I was giving a tour of the club to some community members and they asked me, 'What can we do for you that you can't do for yourself?'” recalled Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Kevin Lauritsen. Knowing first-hand that some club kids were going hungry, “I said, 'Feed our kids.' </p><p>Before he knew it, Hendersonville's Feed the Kids Coalition was formed. Every week a different group of volunteers meets at a different church to prepare a meal and serve it to nearly 250 children at the club every Friday.</p><p>“They have a huge impact on our organization, our kids,” Lauritsen said. “If we could, we would feed our kids every day, but Feed the Kids is a great help. They are one of my great delights.”</p><p>Feed the Kids volunteer Irv Kershner said the organization “is a faith-based organization that fills some critical gaps that others can't. A lot of these kids are from Bruce Drysdale Elementary. They're so polite, saying 'please' and 'thank you' when we serve them. Doing good for these kids is a blessing.” He is a member of Agudas Israel Synagogue. </p><p>Countless are individuals, churches and organizations like the Hendersonville Kiwanis pitch in with donations or to volunteer to cook or serve, Kershner said. He added that many local restaurants, including Soy Y Luna, Mrs. G & Me, and The Green Room, have held special days when a percentage of sales go to the Boys and Girls Club. </p><p>“Ingles has been very good to us,” added Susan O'Brien, Feed the Kids' chairman of the board. </p><p>“And the WNC Farmers Market gives us produce and fruit,” Lauritsen said.</p><p>“I just can't for the life of me image a child being hungry for any reason whatsoever,” O'Brien said. “If that can not happen one day a week, then the effort is worth it.”</p><p>“I will speak to anyone, any civic group, who wants to be more aware of the needs of these kids and find out how they can help feed them,” Kershner said. “We hope to expand to serve more dinners – maybe two nights a week. Our ultimate goal is five nights a week.”</p><p>Weekends are another challenge, when some area children face bare cupboards and hunger pangs. Every week First United Methodist Church member Bob Winters helps prepare backpacks filled with food for the weekend for drop-off at Bruce Drysdale every Friday. A retired veterinarian, he's been volunteering with the backpack program for about seven years. He also volunteers at The Storehouse food pantry on Seventh Avenue in Hendersonville. </p><p>“We serve 150 to 170 kids on any given weekend,” he said. “About eighty percent of the kids at Bruce Drysdale are on the free and reduced lunch program.” That is a striking statistic, but Winters said things used to be even worse. “It used to be that teachers wouldn't do any testing on Monday and Tuesday because the kids were weak from the weekend” when they didn't have adequate food.</p><p>Today, the school has an effective backpack program and “Judy Holt, a counselor at Bruce Drysdale does a great job and keeps us informed about the kids” who need food. “The kids are so appreciative and polite. Whenever I meet a polite child, I say, 'You're from Bruce Drysdale aren't you?' I like what they're teaching over there.”</p><p>The packs are designed to feed one child for two days, Winters said. “We focus on getting calories in. They get a balanced diet twice a day during the week so we focus on high calorie foods like pop tarts, ramen noodles, crackers, cookies, tuna fish, pudding, oatmeal. When our funding is low, it might be mac and cheese and kid boxes of cereal.”</p><p>He gets supplies from Manna Food Bank, Sam's Club, individuals and he is always willing to take direct donations. Volunteers from Kenmure Golf Community and a variety of churches join in to pack and deliver the backpacks. </p><p>When Bruce Drysdale is on school breaks, Winters delivers the backpacks to the Boys and Girls Club, “because they're basically the same group of kids.”</p><p>Lynn Staggs, executive director at The Storehouse food pantry also helps supply Bruce Drysdale's backpack program. Manna supplies 90-95 percent of her groceries. “We have food drives, receive supplies from grocery stores, from Joey's Bagels and sometimes the Underground Bakery.” </p><p>She also takes supplies to West Henderson High and East Henderson High. “They each have a room that we try to fill so teenagers can come in and get something to eat,” she explained. “There is a dignity and privacy issue with teenagers and they don't want to be seen with a food backpack. Some are freshmen high school who might not be old enough to have a job but still have a need.”</p><p>“I don't stay awake at night worrying about the kids because during the day when I'm awake I'm giving 150 percent effort,” Staggs said. “But there's always more to do. We can use volunteers and more money to buy food. Our entire organization depends on donations from the community.”</p><p>Debby Staton, a member of St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Flat Rock, helps organize group of 20-25 volunteers that supply backpacks for more than 140 children at Akinson Elementary, Upward Elementary, Flat Rock Middle, Immaculata Catholic School, and the Little Red School daycare and preschool. “The volunteers are Unitarian Universalists, some are from St. John, or Immaculate Conception, some are Presbyterians, some unaffiliated with a church.”</p><p>The group gets the vast majority of its food supplies from Manna. A pack they prepare typically contains three dinners, two lunches, two snacks and two breakfasts, Staton said. “It might be a can of vegetables, pasta meals or a bag of spaghetti or rice, tuna or chicken in a can, and maybe a one-pound bag of dried beans so mom can make a soup or something for the family. It's not as substantial as it was five years ago, because contributions for Manna are down. They supply 4,600 backpacks a weekend in western North Carolina.”</p><p>Whatever she can't get from Manna she buys from the Aldi discount store.</p><p>“During spring break or Christmas break, we put in much more food – side pouches of pastas and things like that,” she said. “We put in as much as we can for the kiddos.”</p><p>Henderson County apple growers “have been wonderful supporters of our program,” Staton said. “From after Labor Day until we're packing for Christmas, we've had fresh apples. We don't pay anything for the apples. The growers just don't like kids going hungry.”</p><p>“We have been so blessed to have received grants from the Episcopal Diocese of WNC from Human Hurt and Hope Grants program -- $15,000 over three years,” she said. “This year we received a $1,000 grant from St. John and another donation from the Ladies Aide Society of Flat Rock.” </p><p>For the past several years, Hubba Hubba Smokehouse in Flat Rock has held a fundraising barbeque for the group that has helped feed countless children, Staton said. “Starr Teel, who owns Hubba Hubba, has been very good to us.” Teel also opens his restaurant to the group every week to pack the backpacks. </p><p>Teel said he deserves little credit and that it's really Staton who is the hero. “The energy that Debby and her team bring to this is incredible. It's tangible and you can see the difference they make. It's an exciting part of our community fabric and I am glad to be part of the folks here in Flat Rock who help – everybody on Rainbow Row feeds off of this and I mean that spiritually as well as physically.”</p><p>Teel added that “These are the things we're supposed to be doing if we're part of the community. It's one more link in the chain to make sure the community at large is being taken care of and can all share in what our community has the capacity to give.”</p><p>Chris Hefner, pastor of missions and evangelism at Mud Creek Baptist Church in Hendersonville said he wishes more parents would reach out to area organizations if they need food assistance. “There are plenty of ways and programs to make sure kids are fed adequately over school breaks. Kids are getting fed if parents are good about taking care of that need” by seeking help, he said. “The sad thing is when parents aren't involved it taking the initiative to reach out. It's sad and breaks my heart, but ultimately you can't be a parent to every kid and provide for every need. </p><p>He works will Hillandale Elementary to help with their backpack program, with assistance from Manna. </p><p>“The Storehouse, Salvation Army, Interfaith Assistance Ministry – they all do a fantastic job,” he added. “They really know what they're doing. I would put our county up against any other county in terms of helping feed our children.”</p><p><b>Reach Tanker at 828-694-7871 or nancy.tanker@blueridgenow.com.</b></p>